Tessler is partnering with the parcel landowner, NMP Group, to develop a 31-story, 67-unit building at the vacant site on the corner of East 33rd Street.

The architect of record is Karl Fischer, according to the plan exam application filed January 17th. The 129,442-square-foot building will have ground-floor retail, bike storage and a fitness room with pool, saunas and changing room. The 30th and 31st floors will be occupied by a duplex.

NMP Group acquired the site and several neighboring parcels in 2007, with plans to build a residential and hotel development. After the firm defaulted on its loan, Los Angeles-based CIM Group purchased the $29 million mortgage and initiated foreclosure proceedings, according to The Real Deal. In 2013, Tessler paid off the debt and fees owed to CIM in a transaction worth at least $55 million, Crain’s reported.

“Yitzchak is known for buying stuff way below market — he doesn’t get swayed by most people who say ‘I can sell everything for $3,000 per square a foot,” Chugh said. “He is very realistic in his buys, which makes him sleep well at night and makes financing attractive for lenders.”

Tessler confirmed that plans for the 110,000-square-foot site call for a condominium tower at least 40 stories high with 70 units — a slight uptick from the previously reported 31-story, 67-unit plan exam details. The property will offer a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, though an exact breakdown has not yet been determined. There will be six penthouse units as well, each roughly 4,000 square feet with 18-foot high ceilings, and featuring 360-degree views. The other apartment units will have 11-foot ceilings, Tessler said. Building amenities, to be situated on two basement floors, are to include a “long” swimming pool, gym, recreation room, bicycle room, storage and a pet wash room.

Construction is slated to kick off in June, and is scheduled for completion within 24 months.

Tessler bought the 110,000-square-foot site at the corner of Madison Avenue and 33rd Street in September for $55 million out of a bankruptcy sale. The developer agreed to pay off debt and fees owed to CIM Group, which had previously partnered with NMP with a deal to develop the site. NMP bought the site in 2007 but fell into default by 2011.

NEW YORK | 172 Madison Ave | FT | 40+ FLOORS

__________________“If I have done the public any service, it is due to my patient thought.” ― Isaac Newton

172 Madison Avenue has seen several proposals come and go, but now, drawings have finally been posted for the future 31-story building, which sits just above 33rd Street. Permits, partially approved earlier this month, list Karl Fischer as the architect of record, and Yitzchak Tessler as the developer. The images come courtesy of a tipster, who notes that excavation has also begun.

In total, the tower will span 129,442 square feet, including a 4,523 square foot commercial component. The remainder will be split between 67 residences, and with floor-plans averaging approximately 2,000 square feet, condominiums would appear to be likely.

172 Madison Avenue is located in a prime corridor for new construction, just to the north of 160 Madison Avenue, which recently topped-out. Tessler’s building will be of a slightly smaller scale, but the design for 172 should be more appealing from a pedestrian perspective. A short base manages to keep the street-wall semi-intact, and setbacks for the bulk of the tower are minor. Zoning diagrams illustrate additional facade details, though intricacies have yet to be fully illuminated by actual renderings.

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172 Madison’s highest occupied floor will stand 391 feet tall, while the tower’s mechanicals — which surround a rooftop pool — will extend the pinnacle to just shy of 450 feet. Ceiling heights will start at 11 feet, increasing to 18 feet for the top five floors.

Back in September, YIMBY covered the first drawings posted for the revival of 172 Madison Avenue, a long-stalled site in Midtown on the northwest corner of Madison and 33rd Street. In the years since plans were initially conceived, another 42-story tower has already risen across the street, at 160 Madison Avenue.

Now it finally seems like 172 Madison Avenue is also about to begin rising, and YIMBY has the first rendering for the 31-story and 391-foot tall tower. Karl Fischer is the architect, while Yitzhak Tessler is the developer, and the building will span 129,442 square feet, with 4,523 square feet set aside for ground-floor retail. The remainder will be divided between 63 condominiums, averaging nearly 2,000 square feet apiece. Rooftop mechanicals boost the building’s height to just shy of 450 feet.

The new version of 172 Madison is a glassy departure from past conceptions for the site, which sits an an awkward crossroads. The site is just to the north and west of the increasingly desirable NoMad and Park Avenue South corridors, but also only one block southeast of the Empire State Building, and definitely feels much more like Midtown than either of the aforementioned areas.

Perhaps this explains the awkward design for the building. Next door, 160 Madison Avenue is an exercise in glassy banality, and 172 Madison will echo its neighbor in a similarly unattractive fashion, again offering a tower that is designed as if it’s completely separate from the podium it is perched upon.

While the façade is not bad, the massing is problematic, and the tower’s envelope is awkwardly broken by balconies that perforate the upper floors. The result is a mess, and while 172 Madison is not as uniformly offensive as 160 Madison, its low points are just as bad.

Despite its faults, the interiors will likely be spectacular, and ceilings will average 11 feet on lower floors, increasing to a very lofty 18 feet on the top five levels. Completion is likely by 2016.

New York City-based Tessler Developments has unveiled the designs and plans for 172 Madison, its latest offering to the Manhattan residential landscape.

According to Tessler, every feature, service, and amenity of the 34-floor glass tower has been tailored to fit the genuine needs and “wish list” items of the current Manhattan condominium buyer.

Located in the trendy NoMad area, while being situated directly on historic, prestigious Madison Avenue, the upscale condominium will feature 69 units, split between 17 one-bedrooms of around 900 square feet (84 square meters) each, 40 two-bedrooms of about 1,500 square feet (140 square meters) each, six three-bedrooms around 2,150 square feet (200 square meters), as well as the Sky House, Mansion, and four penthouses.

Architect Karl Fischer and interior designer Shamir Shah, who both have worked with Tessler on previous projects 150 Nassau and 260 Park Avenue South, designed the building to be “a modern interpretation of the neighborhood’s rich history.” The tower is being constructed on a solid concrete base, with vertical stone columns punctuating the glass façade.

“My inspiration for this building was the glamour – not to mention the understated elegance – of the mansions that lined Madison Avenue in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The key challenge was to capture the feel of, on the one hand, a rich and iconic history, and on the other, the spirit of an incredibly alive and vibrant neighborhood, one with more restaurants, fashion, and energy than perhaps any other part of a city, which itself is known for its dynamism,” said Karl Fischer, the architect.

The ground floor is designed with two retail spaces. Residences begin on the third floor, and the one- and two-bedroom units begin on the fourth floor.

Special features of the Mansion, Sky House, and penthouses will be revealed soon, but Tessler Developments did disclose a few special touches made with the end user’s satisfaction in mind: Every unit is a corner unit, which was made possible by laying out the homes with careful forethought, keeping each floor to a maximum of three homes, the developers say; every unit has a powder room, allowing for privacy while entertaining. Additionally, every bedroom has an en suite bath.

The sales office, next door to the construction site, will open in mid-March. Occupancy is expected in late 2016.